


Eine Nachtmär

by Stefanyeah



Category: Muse
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Alternate Universe - Horror, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-10-27
Updated: 2013-10-27
Packaged: 2017-12-30 16:30:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1020885
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stefanyeah/pseuds/Stefanyeah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After dying, Dom returns to say goodbye.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Eine Nachtmär

**Author's Note:**

> **Beta:** thekeyholder  
>  **Prompt:** #5  
>  **Disclaimer:** I don‘t own Muse.  
>  **Note(s):** My entry for the MS Horrorfest. It‘ll come in two parts. :D
> 
> I was clever for the title. :P It‘s a pun of ,Nachtmahr‘ which is an old term for nightmare and ,Mär‘ which is an old term for tale.

There was light.

He squinted. There was more than one light on closer inspection. The light on the left side was smaller and so much weaker that it was almost invisible.

He felt something calling for him. Should he move forward? Which light should he choose? The right light was strong and each cell in his body felt drawn to it. It was the only logical choice.

But still… the left light _felt_ right. He knew there was only one decision possible, no matter what logic dictated. So he followed the direction of his heart.

 

 

Dom woke, lying atop a blanket on an empty bed.

He frowned. Where was Matt?

He looked around. Where was Matt? Matt was important. He was the reason Dom had returned.

He sat up and looked around in the bedroom. Returned? From where? Where had he been? And where was Matt?

Dom lifted his hands to his face and almost passed out when all he saw was a shadow, something black moving into his vision without any substance.

What had he become?

The sounds of a door being opened followed by voices were heard. Dom recognised Matt's voice and the voice of their mutual friend Chris.

"I can't believe it," Matt's voice sounded strangely hoarse, a broken quality to it that Dom had only heard once, when Matt's mother had died and he had cried until his voice broke. "How will I cope without him?”

“You will,” Chris’ voice came. “With time, you will.”

“I don’t want to,” Matt hissed, before sobs were heard.

Dom turned to look where the voices came from and found himself in the corridor. Matt was dressed in black, hair dishevelled and eyes swollen and red. Chris was dressed in black as well. Dom frowned. He had never seen both of them dressed all in black before.

He rushed forward to hug Matt, to ask what had happened, but his arms found no resistance and Matt did not react to Dom’s question. Instead, Chris led Matt into the kitchen, both of them ignoring Dom.

Dom followed them, glancing down to find his whole body an undefined shadow. He concentrated on his legs, remembering how they used to function. Two legs stretched from the undefined mass and walked through the air, not once touching the floor.

Dom shivered and looked up just in time to find the kitchen door falling shut. He rushed forward to keep it from closing, but fell straight through the wood and into the kitchen.

Matt was sitting at the table, face resting between his arms. Dom moved to hover around him, whispering words of solace that never reached Matt.

Chris busied himself around them, preparing a small diner and setting it down in front of Matt who didn't react. Both men ended up sitting in silence, an occasional sob heard from Matt. Eventually, Chris took his leave, promising to check on Matt the next day.

Matt hummed and waited for the house door to fall shut. Without raising his head, he whispered, “Why did you leave me, Dom?”

 

 

Dom sat at the kitchen table, on the chair that used to be his, and waited for Matt. Over the past days during which he had followed Matt, Dom had discovered that he could interact with inanimate objects if he remembered how their touch used to feel against his fingers.

He waited for Matt to return from the shops, tired from the hushed whispers of sympathy directed at him. He had taken to talking to himself when alone in the house, still addressing Dom. He didn't notice the signs Dom left, though. Even if Matt almost fell over a chair that had stood in a different place only a few moments before, he ignored it.

The sound of a key turning in a lock came and Dom looked up, waiting for Matt to enter the kitchen and toss the shopping goods onto the table.

He craned his neck, pleased to notice that Matt had stopped getting only junk food and had opted for vegetables and fresh meat. Dom picked up a tomato and put it onto the table.

He wondered when Matt would finally notice that indeed someone else was in the house. All Dom wanted was a last chance to say goodbye and apologise for leaving. But in order to do that, he'd have to find a way to contact Matt.

Matt turned back to the table and stared at the tomato. He picked it up and lifted it to his eye’s level. “I could swear I haven't taken you from the bag yet.” He put the tomato back into the paper bag and carried the whole bag over to the work top.

Dom watched him cutting the vegetables and tossing them into bowls before setting to work on the meat. His attention shifted from the silently working man to the shadow that was cast by the cupboard.

Dom squinted. Did that shadow look like a hand stretching out towards Matt?

Dom squinted again, a silly gesture now that he wasn't more than a shadow himself. But human habits were so hard to shake. He narrowed his eyes and stared at the shadow behind Matt. There were no claws, just Matt's shadow cutting bread.

Dom shook his head. His own predicament must have made him see things. He sighed.

Just how long did he want to still haunt this house until Matt finally noticed him? And what would Dom do then? He couldn't really follow Matt all his life, could he? But then, his chance to go into the light had been passed. Maybe Dom was now condemned to stay in this world forever, to watch Matt get over his grief, find a new love and grow old and eventually die. And then Dom would stay behind, alone until the end of time.

But maybe he just needed his chance to say goodbye and beg forgiveness from Matt for leaving. Maybe it was like in all those horror flicks and shows he had always watched with Matt on rainy evenings. Just one last thing that needed to be done and he could leave.

 

 

Dom lay on the bed, staring through the shadow of his hand at the ceiling. He wanted to touch the man that lay next to him, but whenever he tried to brush his hand against Matt’s skin, Dom’s hand met no resistance. He moved through Matt as if he was nothing more but air.

“Curious,” Dom muttered and looked at Matt. “Why can I touch inanimate objects, but not you?”

He rolled onto his side and shifted closer to Matt to whisper against his ear. “I love you, Matthew Bellamy. I wish I could have stayed with you for longer. I wanted you to see me bald and wrinkly, just as much as I wanted to see your face adorned with laughter lines and your eyes filled with the wisdom of a life fully lived.”

Matt stirred and brushed his hand over his forehead, moving it through Dom’s head. “Dom?”

Dom felt his heart skip a beat like phantom pain. “Matt!”

“Dom…” Matt sighed. “I missed you.”

“I missed you, too, love,” Dom purred. Matt had heard him. Even if only in his sleep, but he had heard Dom!

“No, Dom…” Matt whimpered and rolled onto his side, away from Dom. He whimpered and threw himself onto his back again.

Dom frowned. “Matt, what’s wrong? I’m here, love.” He reached out to place his hand on Matt’s shoulder.

Just when Dom had put his hand where Matt’s skin was, Matt screamed.

“No!” he shouted and opened his eyes, sitting bolt upright and moving through Dom.

Matt remained upright, panting and staring at the wall opposite with his eyes wide. Dom noticed sweat running down Matt’s back. He sat up and reached out to touch, but his hand glided through Matt once again. “I’m here, love,” he repeated. “I’m here. Everything will be okay.”

Matt kept staring ahead while Dom whispered reassuring words to him. Eventually, Matt looked around in the room, his eyes showing no reaction when they passed Dom. It always hurt when Matt did that. He looked through Dom several times each day and each time stabbed Dom’s phantom heart.

“Just a nightmare,” Matt eventually muttered and fell back. He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes.

Dom remained seated, frowning down at the man that tried to fall asleep again. “A nightmare?” he whispered. “Did I cause you a nightmare?”

 

 

Matt's sleep had been calm and undisturbed for the remainder of the night. But Dom hadn't dared whisper to him again. Maybe it had just been coincidence, but if Matt could perceive Dom's voice during sleep, Dom couldn't risk his voice causing Matt even more pain than he had already gone through.

Dom watched Matt brushing his teeth and combing his hair. With a sigh, Matt got dressed for work. Dom smiled. When he had been alive, he'd never seen Matt's morning routine and how Matt would always put on his socks first and wiggle his toes in them before continuing to get dressed.

He remembered Matt's sock fetish, something Dom had made fun of on a few occasions and indulged in on other occasions. There had always been at least one pair of white tennis socks hidden in Dom's part of the wardrobe.

Matt left the bathroom, straightening his tie while he descended the stairs. Dom followed him into the corridor and watched Matt pulling on his shoes and jacket. He slid closer to Matt and brushed his lips over Matt's cheek without gaining any reaction.

The door fell shut behind Matt and Dom was left alone in the house. He sighed and turned to walk back into the kitchen. Maybe he could manage some kind of meal before Matt returned. That would be something to not go unnoticed.

Dom glided through the door and looked around. He frowned at the chair, that stood in its position, backrest parallel to the edge of the table. He could swear he had moved it before following Matt upstairs. It had become somewhat of a habit to him, something he didn't have to remember anymore, because he did it subconsciously.

Something clattered behind Dom and he whisked around to find one of the knives had fallen from the magnetic knife holder. It had slipped from the worktop and was now lying on the floor.

Dom bent down to pick up the knife, staring at the floating item surrounded by the black, shadowy blob that was his hand. In all those years they had used the magnetic knife holder, never had one of the knives come loose. And even if one of them had, the worktop was big enough to ensure it wouldn't fall to the floor.

Dom turned around and let his gaze wander through the kitchen. It looked normal, no one else was present. The shadow beside the fridge kept Dom's attention, however. It seemed deeper than the other shadows. Dom felt a shiver run down his spine.

Despite his instincts telling him to flee, he floated closer to the shadow, until he himself merged with it. There was nothing. The dark aura that seemed to come from this corner only a few moments ago had dissipated. Dom was hovering in a shadow that was defined by the absence of light and nothing else.

“You're seeing ghosts,” he muttered and shook his head. He left the corner, spending the day hovering through the house and moving random items. He stopped in front of a photo frame that lay on a shelf in the living room. The photo inside showed Matt and Dom in front of the sea on their first holiday. They were laughing at a silly joke Matt had just made, Dom just about to kiss Matt's temple.

Why had it been tipped over? Dom surely would never do this, the memory too precious to be used for little tricks and pranks. Had Matt tipped it over? But Dom couldn't remember seeing Matt doing so and he had followed Matt almost everywhere when they were together in the house. Dom would have noticed if Matt had moved this photo.

He reached out and put the photo into its position just when he heard the door open.

Dom turned and listened to Matt putting the keys on their hook and slipping out of his shoes and jacket. He floated into the corridor and brushed his lips against Matt's forehead as he always had done as a welcome back greeting. He followed Matt into the kitchen, frowning at the knife that was lying on the floor again.

Matt halted and stared at the knife, muttering, “Strange,” and put it back in its place. He shook his head and fell onto a chair, pulling out his phone in the process.

Dom hovered around Matt, wondering if he should have gone through with his plans of preparing dinner. But then, that would have freaked Matt out, Dom figured.

“Matt?” Chris' voice came, somewhat distorted through the phone line.

“Hi,” Matt answered. His voice was low and tired. “Do you have time to listen to my whining?”

“Of course, mate. You know I'm here for you.”

Dom floated through the kitchen while Matt talked to Chris about his first day at work, being issued to sympathetic looks and whispering behind his back.

Dom felt watched. He couldn't pinpoint what possibly caused the feeling, but his attention kept straying towards the dark corner next to the fridge.

“Show yourself,” he whispered, but nothing happened. The shadows in the room remained just the way they were.

 

 

Days passed by and Matt still didn't take notice of any of Dom's attempts to establish some kind of contact. Dom, however, took notice of strange incidents.

He found the photo of their first shared holiday tipped over each day. And by then he knew that Matt hadn't touched it. Also, the knives kept clattering to the floor and each chair or flower or lamp Dom moved, would return to its original position within a few minutes.

Dom had started seeing shadows move, feeling watched almost everywhere and sometimes, he heard a low chuckle and whispers he couldn't decipher. He felt as if he was going insane. It didn't lack a certain irony, the haunting ghost being driven mad, while the haunted man remained unknowing.

The worst, however, were the nights. Dom lay next to Matt, listening to Matt screaming his name. Not in longing, but in terror. Matt was begging him to stop, to have mercy, to leave him alone. And only a few moments later, he’d cry for Dom to come back.

It happened each night, and Matt’s pleas for mercy grew more and more desperate. Dom would whisper into Matt's ear, pleading for him to wake, offering words of comfort, but his voice remained unheard. Unlike the first night Matt had encountered the nightmares, he wouldn't wake until the alarm went off.

So all that Dom could do was sit by and watch how the lively man with those blue eyes became dull. The sparkling that Dom had always found in Matt's eyes had vanished and left a muddy blue behind. Matt's cheekbones had become even more prominent as the skin of his face became even paler and sunken, the shadows around Matt's eyes never leaving.

Dom noticed Matt's eyes twitching, something that had only rarely occurred when Matt had been nervous. Now it happened almost constantly.

Chris had appeared the previous day and had forced Matt to sleep the night at his, leaving Dom alone in the house that he didn't feel at home in any more. The night had been calm, no falling knives or tipped photos, and Matt had looked a little more rested when he returned.

The following night, he screamed louder than before, though.

Dom flew circles above him, trying to grab Matt's shoulders, even shouting at Matt to wake, but nothing worked. Matt tossed and turned in bed, his voice becoming hoarse from his screams.

There was a flicker of something black beneath his head, though, Dom noticed. He squinted. This wasn't a normal shadow. He dived forward and managed to grab a corner of the shadow just as it disappeared.

 

 

Dom blinked and looked around. He wasn't in their house anymore. What he saw was a vast landscape, almost devoid of vegetation. There was the odd tree, dead and crippled, stretching its black branches towards the grey sky.

“Have you finally followed me,” a voice growled in Dom's ear.

Dom swivelled around and saw a shadow floating away from him.

“Who are you?” Dom asked and followed. He shivered. The voice hadn't registered through his ear, but the words had formed themselves right in his consciousness. They had felt malicious.

Low laughter was his only answer, reverberating in his mind. And then it was gone.

“Come back, you bastard!” Dom shouted, but he didn't receive an answer. He looked around again. There was nothing but the dead trees to bee seen, no sound coming from any direction.

He had to get back and find Matt. He had to protect Matt from this shadow.

 

 

Dom didn't know for how long he had meandered through this strange landscape. It could have been hours, days or just minutes. He didn't even know if he was going anywhere or just walking in circles. Even the trees started to look the same after a while.

He would never get back. He was dead and useless now and whatever this black entity was, it would get Matt in the end.

Dom sunk to the ground, intent on just staying there and hoping to decay one day.

“So, you thought you could leave me alone?” Dom heard a voice that sounded strangely familiar, even though it was distorted by a hiss. He looked up to find that the scenery before him had changed.

The landscape Dom was still in narrowed down into a room that could have come straight from a mediaeval dungeon. Black masonry walls defined the room and in the middle there was a four-poster bed, made of black metal and red, silken sheets laid out on it.

Matt was lying on it, his ankles restrained by heavy shackles, the chains leading from the bed to huge metal bars on the floor.

Someone who looked like Dom knelt between Matt's legs, that were forced open by the metal balls. He sneered down at Matt who shook his head and pushed himself into a sitting position with his hands. “No, I would never, please, Dom…”

The Dom on the bed cooked his head and sneered. “Damn right, you would never leave me, darling,” he purred. His eyes fell on Matt's wrists.

“No, please, have mercy, just tonight,” Matt sobbed.

Dom's counterpart laughed and flicked his fingers.

Horrified, Dom watched how Matt's wrists were encased in metal rings, black chains growing from them and moving towards the ceiling. “Fight it!” Dom screamed. “Defend yourself!”

But Matt didn't seem to hear him. He didn't fight back as the chains pulled his arms higher and apart until he was sitting with his arms spread, suspended by chains.

“Do you think you deserve mercy?” the counterpart asked.

Matt didn't answer, he just released a single sob.

The counterpart reached out and brushed his hand over Matt's cheek and down his throat and torso. “Answer me, Matthew,” he hissed. “Do you deserve mercy for leaving me alone?” He reached up and buried his fist in Matt's hair, yanking the head back by it.

“Please,” Matt whimpered.

“Stop begging, you little shit,” the counterpart hissed and let go of Matt's hair, grabbing Matt's throat instead. “Answer my question.”

“No…” Matt whispered.

The counterpart tightened his hand and shook Matt, his free hand delivering a hard slap to Matt's face. “Is that how I taught you to answer to me?”

“No, Dominic,” Matt whimpered. “No, Dominic, I don't deserve mercy,” he cried.

The counterpart smiled. He turned his head and winked into Dom's direction while lifting his hand. A whip appeared in it. Still keeping his eyes on Dom, the counterpart drew his hand back and let the whip crack against Matt's chest.

Matt screamed, causing the counterpart to laugh.

“You're getting one lash for each hour you've left me alone yesternight and two for each scream I hear from you now.”

“No!” Dom screamed. He rushed forward, but just before he could enter the dungeon, he collided with something.

The counterpart laughed and delivered another hit, Matt's screams sounding over the laughter. Dom tried to move forward, but an invisible wall kept him away. He raised his fists and banged them against the wall, shouting and screaming.

He couldn't break through, though. He was condemned to watch his counterpart torture the man he loved, to watch skin break and blood run down Matt's chests, screams and laughter rising in a cacophony.

A beeping sound came and the counterpart looked up and pouted. “Too bad, the morning disrupts us again.” He bent down and pressed his lips against Matt's, nibbling and biting until blood trickled down. He flicked his tongue at the tiny bloodstream. “I'll see you tonight, my love.”

The counterpart straightened and tipped two fingers against his forehead towards Dom.

 

 

Dom woke in their bed, lying next to Matt. They were staring at the ceiling and panting.

“I'm sorry, Dom,” Matt whimpered. He raised his hand and brushed it over his lips, raising it to his eyes and frowning at the blood stuck to his hand. “I still love you…”

“That wasn't me,” Dom whispered. “Please, hear me. Hear me and believe me. I'd never do something like this to you.”

He watched Matt leave the bed and scuffle towards the bathroom. Laughter came from next to him and he turned to see a black shadow. It had vaguely the form of a human, two long horns spreading sideways from the head. The arms were long enough to touch the floor even while still standing straight.

“You took long to figure out your lover's nightmares,” the figure spoke.

Dom moved into a standing position and retreated to the other side of the bed. “Who are you?”

“I am the Nightmare,” the shadow answered. “You can’t escape me. Each time you sleep, I’m there for you.” It chuckled and moved through the bed. “The only reason you can see me now as who I am, is because you’re sleeping the long sleep. You will never wake.” The Nightmare reached out to touch Dom's forehead, but Dom dodged and retreated. “And while you’re sleeping for ever, you can watch how I swallow the soul of your love. Oooh, he will taste so sweet, all hopeless and driven insane with his mourning.”

“I won't allow that!” Dom shouted. “You won't have Matt!”

“Oh, but I will,” the Nightmare answered. “He's already mine. Haven't you seen him last night? He will voluntarily return to me, accept my torture and eventually, he'll offer his soul without further prompting.”

“Never! I will prevent that!”

The Nightmare laughed. “And how will you go about it? It wasn't me who put up the wall last night.”

“What?” Dom shook his head. Of course this creature had put up the wall to prevent Dom from interfering.

“Aaaaaw, you little, sweet lover,” the Nightmare purred. “Can't believe it.” He took a step closer to Dom, and reached out again to touch Dom's cheek.

This time Dom didn't dodge. He stared up at the creature, feeling blood lust spread from the spot where their shadows merged. He should claim Matt as his, make sure he never looked at anyone else again. Kill everyone who so much as dared to lay an eye on _his_ Matthew.

“Matthew himself put up the walls, he knew he needed to be punished,” the Nightmare whispered against Dom's lips. “He won't let anyone get between us, not even you.”

“I don't believe you!” Dom snapped and removed himself from the Nightmare's touch. The bloodlust and malicious thoughts vanished from his mind as soon as the touch broke. He shook his head. How could he even think of murdering people just a few seconds ago?

“Go ahead, fight for him, my little, sweet lover,” the Nightmare laughed. “It will turn my victory even sweeter.”


End file.
